1,3-dihydroxyacetone or dihydroxyacetone, abbreviated as DHA, is the simplest ketose with three carbon atoms. It appears white or off-white powdery crystal form. It tastes sweet and cool, and is inclined to absorb moisture and decompose. The normal form is a crystalline dimer (1,4-Dioxane), which is slowly dissolved in 1 part of water or 15 parts of ethanol, and slightly soluble in diethyl ether. However, it reverts to the monomer via dissolution or heating. The monomer is very soluble in water and organic solvents such as ethanol, acetone and diethyl ether and the like. It has a melting point of 75-80° C., a water solubility of more than 250 g·L−1 (at 20° C.), and is stable at pH 6.0. 1,3-dihydroxyacetone is an important raw material for chemical industry and biochemistry, a synthetic intermediate for medicine and pesticide, and a food additive with multiple functions. It has a very wide range of applications.
Dihydroxyacetone has moisturizing, sunscreen and anti-ultraviolet radiation effects, and can prevent the skin moisture from evaporating excessively. Thus, it can be used as formula ingredients in cosmetics and has a special effect when particularly used as sunscreen cream. Dihydroxyacetone is an intermediate product of glycometabolism, playing an important role in the process of glycometabolism. It has an effect of reducing body fat of pig and thus can improve lean meat rate. Supplementation of dihydroxyacetone can increase body's metabolic rate and enhance the oxidation of fatty acid, and potentially fat can be consumed efficiently so as to reduce body fat. Therefore, dihydroxyacetone can exhibit an effect of anti-obesity and reduce an incidence of related diseases. It can also improve the insulin sensitivity and reduce the plasma cholesterol level caused by high cholesterol diet. The long term supplementation of dihydroxyacetone can increase blood glucose utilization rate and thus save muscle glycogen, which can improve aerobic endurance performance for athletes.
Although dihydroxyacetone (DHA) is widely applied, there is no report on its anti-cancer effect when used alone or in combination.
Cisplatin, the chemical name of which is cis-diammine platinum dichloride, is a cell cycle non-specific medicament with cytotoxicity. It can inhibit the DNA replication process of cancer cells, and damage the structure on cancer cell membrane, thus having a strong broad-spectrum anti-cancer effect. However, it has serious side effects including bone marrow transplantation, leukopenia, strong gastrointestinal reactions, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, irreversible renal toxicity and renal failure, neurotoxicity, allergic reactions, and electrolyte imbalance in the clinic. Although cisplatin has such a highly toxicity, it is still a first-line medicine in clinical treatment for solid tumors due to its exact broad-spectrum anti-cancer effect.
However, it is impossible to improve curative effect by increasing the dosage of cisplatin. Therefore, a therapeutic regimen in combination with cisplatin, which can significantly enhance the anti-cancer effect without increasing toxicity, is always an important subject of cancer medical research.